Young and Restless

So our excursion to Verona was a smashing success. No, I'm not married or even engaged, but I took a bunch of pretty pictures and ate like a king on Brown University's tab. Verona is charming in the way that any tourist city is charming- lots of colorful buildings, lots of sparkly key chains, lots of immigrants selling roses. We were a group of twenty amateur gringo photographers led by a flamboyant Italian guide in a purple shirt, but somehow we didn't really stand out. Or if we did, I didn't notice (too busy snapping pics?). We visited Juliet's balcony and everyone who was hoping to get lucky in love fondled Juliet's right breast. It's a tradition, ok? And it's a statue of Juliet, not a historical impersonator. Regardless, I decided to refrain (yeah, I know what happens to John Harvard's "lucky" foot every night...). If you've ever been to Harvard and missed that last reference, you should probably go wash your hands.

After lunch we were allowed to explore the rest of the city for a few hours, so I went with some friends to check out the archeological museum across the Adige River. The museum is situated high on a hill, and from the ancient Roman amphitheater we witnessed a blood red sunset over the entire city. I had a moment of complete tranquility and took the opportunity to give thanks to Him who has made possible all of these wondrous adventures. I am truly blessed beyond belief.

Saturday night after the Verona trip, my roommate Christian and I went out to a club and met up with Norma, a crazy fun acquaintance/friend from home. We ran the mile together every day during summer school PE five and a half years ago, but that was the extent of our relationship. She's also studying here this semester, which raises the Santa Rosa representation in Bologna to three! We 707 kids are doing big things, watch out...

To be honest, the rest of the week kinda blurs together. We had 18 more hours of class and a couple more museum tours. I think I ate pasta 9 or 10 times, I can't recall exactly. The undeniable highlight of the week was when Christian and I discovered "Eggs in a Basket," a divine breakfast dish in which you fry an egg in the middle of a piece of bread. Oh my goodness, my mouth is watering already. By now we're pretty much masters of the craft, occasionally decorating the bread with savory bits of Italian salami or spicy ketchup designs reminiscent of Celtic art prior to Christian influence in 450 AD. We're considering opening a restaurant and calling it "Toads in the Hole".

Let's get back on track, shall we? The University of Bologna semester officially started this week, not like I went to any classes or anything. Hey, for the time being I have more important things to focus on, two of which are my intensive orientation Italian final tomorrow and my history final on Thursday, both of which are oral exams, all'italiana. I have yet to begin studying because until this afternoon I had other more important things to focus on, like my Harvard grant applications for this summer in HONDURAS! After hours and hours of tedious budget calculations and proposal fine-tuning, I sent off three separate applications in hopes of getting some $$$ for travel and living expenses. I don't want to be too specific yet as to what the internship would entail, because nothing's set in stone. I will, however, tell you that I'll be getting my tan back and learning how to scuba dive in coral reefs.

Oh, before I forget- in the midst of all those grant applications, I bought some plane tickets. One is from Milan to Porto, Portugal. The other is from Casablanca, Morocco, back to Milan. I paid 40 euro. The tickets are ten days apart in early March, during which I'll be backpacking through Lisbon, Seville, Algeciras, Tangier, and Marrakech. Ah, my adventures are only about to begin! More on that trip later...

It's 10:30pm and I'm deciding whether to study or go out on the town. I think I'm gonna study. Yep, most definitely. Paul Ginsborg's Contemporary History of Italy 1943-1980 is really calling my name... *Wink wink*